Andrew's 1/48 Academy Spitfire XIVc

[keavdog]

I know some of the stripes were hastily hand brushed and not necessarily clean, but I really like the nice lines of a well masked set of stripes like you have. Looks great.

[handiabled]

Painting over raised details can be tricky and indeed the invasion stripes were pretty much slapped on aircraft with little notice. I think yours look great!

[deafpanzer]

Love those stripes!!! Some were painted nicely while others were not. I guess it depends on how much time or clean freak the crew were. If I was the crew, my lines would have been perfect because I have OCD!

[stikpusher]

Sept 22, 2024 9:49:23 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Love those stripes!!! Some were painted nicely while others were not. I guess it depends on how much time or clean freak the crew were. If I was the crew, my lines would have been perfect because I have OCD!

I think that most invasion stripes were painted on less than perfect in reality…

[deafpanzer]

Sept 22, 2024 11:30:35 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Sept 22, 2024 9:49:23 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Love those stripes!!! Some were painted nicely while others were not. I guess it depends on how much time or clean freak the crew were. If I was the crew, my lines would have been perfect because I have OCD!

I think that most invasion stripes were painted on less than perfect in reality…

Not under my supervision or I would have made my crew peel the potatoes!!! 🤪

[stikpusher]

Hah! sitting on a stool next to the kitchen peeling taters or being out in the weather on the flight line slinging a paint brush... 

[stuart]

Those look really good!

Great photo's carlos!

[stikpusher]

Sept 22, 2024 18:49:57 GMT -5 stuart said:

Those look really good!

Great photo's carlos!

Thanks Stuart. I love seeing the stuff of how things were actually were done. I think us modelers do our work too neat sometimes 

[41chevy]

Excellent! Paint is very well done!
As for research I'm want to do a few RAF bombers my uncle flew in WWII until I learned he flew a path finder mission in a non authorized USAAF P 51 when he was in the 617 Squadron.

[adt70hk]

Sept 21, 2024 20:28:32 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Mighty fine work Andrew. Those stripes look wonderful.

Sept 21, 2024 20:30:49 GMT -5 keavdog said:

I know some of the stripes were hastily hand brushed and not necessarily clean, but I really like the nice lines of a well masked set of stripes like you have. Looks great.

Sept 22, 2024 6:05:18 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Painting over raised details can be tricky and indeed the invasion stripes were pretty much slapped on aircraft with little notice. I think yours look great!

Sept 22, 2024 9:49:23 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Love those stripes!!! Some were painted nicely while others were not. I guess it depends on how much time or clean freak the crew were. If I was the crew, my lines would have been perfect because I have OCD!

Sept 22, 2024 11:30:35 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Sept 22, 2024 9:49:23 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Love those stripes!!! Some were painted nicely while others were not. I guess it depends on how much time or clean freak the crew were. If I was the crew, my lines would have been perfect because I have OCD!

I think that most invasion stripes were painted on less than perfect in reality…

Sept 22, 2024 18:49:57 GMT -5 stuart said:

Those look really good!

Great photo's carlos!

Sept 23, 2024 14:30:51 GMT -5 41chevy said:

Excellent! Paint is very well done!
As for research I'm want to do a few RAF bombers my uncle flew in WWII until I learned he flew a path finder mission in a non authorized USAAF P 51 when he was in the 617 Squadron.

Thanks chaps glad you like it so far and yes you're right the application of stripes in the pre D-Day rush was haphazard at best - understandably given that they only had a few days at most to apply them.  I have though read in a few places, that in time, they came to be applied by the maintenance units and so their application was a somewhat neater.

In this case there are so many things wrong with this kit both in terms of shape and markings, that I though I might as well experiment with using the stripe masks too, as I'd never used them before....the proverbial 'in for a penny and in for a pound'.


Carlos - thanks for the pictures.  I'd seen the Spitfire one before but not the others


ATB

Andrew

[adt70hk]

AAAAAAARGHHHHHHH!!!

I have just lost the post I was about to put up......sorry don't have time to retype it all....in short camo and stripes done.



TJ , keavdog - John, Johnny, you asked about the masks.  In short they worked well.  I am sure that the only major problem was down to well documented nose/cowling shape issues that this has.  I'll try to do a proper review later.


ATB


Andrew

[TJ]

I hate when that happens

[kyledehart5]

Yeah. The site has force reloaded on me while posting a few times. One of the few annoyances I get here. Awesome work on the camo and stripes!! Really looking great

[adt70hk]

Oct 7, 2024 6:17:06 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Yeah. The site has force reloaded on me while posting a few times. One of the few annoyances I get here. Awesome work on the camo and stripes!! Really looking great

Oct 6, 2024 14:58:55 GMT -5 TJ said:

I hate when that happens

A belated thank you chaps!

A small update to follow shortly.

ATB

Andrew

[adt70hk]

OK chaps......so another couple of mammoth masking sessions this week.....and what do I have to show for it??

Two narrow yellow lines and four red squares!  That's it!! 

Seriously thought I think this is only the second time I have done the yellow stripes this way and it's the first time I have done the squares this way - so much better than trying to do the decals on those wing edges!!!

The curve of the wing - especially on the top make the yellow band appear to narrow it heads inwards but they are the same width.....it's just an optical illusion created by the curve of the wing.

Next up varnish and assembling the undercarriage.

ACW as usual!

ATB

Andrew


PS...I'm just following the instructions on this, given it's a 'test' build of sorts on a dodgy kit....so apologies for any errors!!



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[stuart]

Great work Mate!

I remember once some bloke telling me he only build Luftwaffe aircraft because he thought RAF aircraft were dull and colourless!?!? Colourless? Have you ever seen a fighter in Day-fighter scheme with yellow leading edges and d-day stripes?

[adt70hk]

Oct 12, 2024 3:43:27 GMT -5 stuart said:

Great work Mate!

I remember once some bloke telling me he only build Luftwaffe aircraft because he thought RAF aircraft were dull and colourless!?!? Colourless? Have you ever seen a fighter in Day-fighter scheme with yellow leading edges and d-day stripes?

Thanks Stuart!  Dull and colourless....really???  I will say no more.

I'll also rely to your PM on the other site, hopefully sometime this weekend.

ATB

Andrew

[adt70hk]

OK chaps.....a short update.

Last night and this morning I have achieved the following:

• Exhausts fitted
• Pre-decal gloss coat on
• Undercarriage assembled

So hopefully not long to the finish line now!

Oh and remember earlier on, how I commented on how the Griffon Spitfire nose bore more than a passing similarity to the noses of Supermarine's Schneider Trophy winning planes?  Then it seems that it was more than a passing coincidence.  Although quite how much the Schneider 'R' engine was a direct ancestor or more of an inspiration for the Griffon gets quite technical. Links:

• www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_spitfire_mkXII.html
  
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_R

ACW as usual.

Andrew

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[cbaltrin]

Your Spitifire I looking great Andrew!  Yes, your invasion stripes are impeccable and that is just fine with me.. Personally , I have a love / hate relationship with reference photos. Sometimes I really want to know what something looked like, yet other times, I'd just rather not know... 

[handiabled]

Coming along fantastic! The small fine details are the ones that are the most time consuming but make the build look that much better.

[Tojo72]

Very sharp job on the painting

[stuart]

Oct 12, 2024 5:56:48 GMT -5 cbaltrin said:

Your Spitifire I looking great Andrew!  Yes, your invasion stripes are impeccable and that is just fine with me.. Personally , I have a love / hate relationship with reference photos. Sometimes I really want to know what something looked like, yet other times, I'd just rather not know... 

Agreed, sometimes ignorance can indeed be Bliss! 

Great work Andrew! 

[406 Silverado]

Your work in this scale is nothing short of mind-blowing Andrew. Fantastic detail work followed up with some really good foundation work for the painting process and then.....there's the stripes! You're making this look all too easy man.

[adt70hk]

Oct 12, 2024 5:56:48 GMT -5 cbaltrin said:

Your Spitifire I looking great Andrew!  Yes, your invasion stripes are impeccable and that is just fine with me.. Personally , I have a love / hate relationship with reference photos. Sometimes I really want to know what something looked like, yet other times, I'd just rather not know... 

Oct 12, 2024 6:44:44 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Coming along fantastic! The small fine details are the ones that are the most time consuming but make the build look that much better.

Oct 12, 2024 7:01:23 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

Very sharp job on the painting

Oct 12, 2024 7:59:55 GMT -5 stuart said:

Oct 12, 2024 5:56:48 GMT -5 cbaltrin said:

Your Spitifire I looking great Andrew!  Yes, your invasion stripes are impeccable and that is just fine with me.. Personally , I have a love / hate relationship with reference photos. Sometimes I really want to know what something looked like, yet other times, I'd just rather not know... 

Agreed, sometimes ignorance can indeed be Bliss! 



Great work Andrew! 

Oct 12, 2024 8:25:28 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Your work in this scale is nothing short of mind-blowing Andrew. Fantastic detail work followed up with some really good foundation work for the painting process and then.....there's the stripes! You're making this look all too easy man.

Thanks for the support chaps.  Coming from such a talented bunch I am genuinely humbled.

However, as I've already said to Joe the fuselage decals are putting up a fight.    I had planned to source some AM decals and do painted stripes.  But Hannants, who do them, won't have them back in stock until the end of the year, so I had to stick with the decals....and I really wish I didn't have to!  I'll keep you posted.


Chris, Stuart - I know exactly what you mean...sometimes reference photos are so helpful and sometimes they help ruin build!


Joe - It has not always gone so smoothly!!  When I did the stripes, I hadn't masked properly and got a bit of subtle overspray over the green and gray on the fuselage body..... .  Whilst I was able to cover the white on the grey with some thin washes.  The same approach didn't work with the green ...so I had to re-mask the camo and cover the stripes, just so I could touch up the green!!     That said, the green was a bit thin over the grey and so it was a bit light, so actually it meant I could darken it again.


Thanks again chaps!


ATB



Andrew

[adt70hk]

OK chaps....so a potentially major setback that in the long run will actually work in my favour and produce a better finish.

Short version is that the two great big slab-sided decals that would go on the rear of the fuselage for the stripes, roundels, code letter and serial numbers would not settle down, especially at the top - no matter what I did.  Not sure if they were iffy or just poor in the first place.  So I have done my best to remove them and for the most part they came off very well, without too much damage and what there is will be hidden under my solution to the problem.

As I had mentioned before I had thought about getting an AM set sometime back, specifically Xtradecal X48130 (link), but I have known for a while that they are out of stock for some time.  However, I discovered I can source individual Xtradecal sets for the code letters, roundels and serial numbers, so I can still do the aircraft as shown in X48130.  It is a bit extravagant but it gives me flexibility with future builds, plus I can probably sell the partly used sets for a reduced fee if I want to and get some money back.

But first up another mammoth masking session to put down the invasion stripes and the sky band at the back..... .....but at least I know it will give me a much better finish in the long run, and certainly much better than the kit decals would have looked!

Oh and I had also discovered that the tail plane squares had been misprinted but at least I could easily correctly that.


ATB

Andrew

--------------------------------------------







It's not as bad as it looks...honestly!

[kyledehart5]

Just catching up with the latest updates with this one. Shame about the decals Fighting back a little!! But you’re beating it into submission!! Absolutely beautiful paint work which has certainly led to A great camo and striping look. Looking forward to the next update!

[adt70hk]

Oct 13, 2024 17:08:22 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Just catching up with the latest updates with this one. Shame about the decals Fighting back a little!! But you’re beating it into submission!! Absolutely beautiful paint work which has certainly led to A great camo and striping look. Looking forward to the next update!

Thanks Kyle....as you'll see shortly it has been fighting back again but due entirely my fault.....

ATB

Andrew

[adt70hk]

OK chaps......so the battles continue....but this time entirely my fault....but with yet anther silver lining and an interesting learning experience!

So Tuesday, I masked up ahead of the fuselage stripes and I really went to town to make sure none of my previous good work was ruined.  Then throughout the week I worked on the stripes week and by yesterday evening, the stripes and sky band*** was done!

However, earlier in the day, it had dawned on me I had not put any clear coat over the other decals......you can see the where this is going......

.....and so when I removed all the masking....most of the decals came with it......BUT actually in most cases almost completely, fortunately.  I have been over them a few times with masking tape to pull the remaining bits off, which also helped for the most part

However, in the case of the upper wing roundels, it actually pulled all of the carrier film off but left substantial amounts of the roundel paint behind, much like the new Eduard decals!!!!

Whilst this is obviously a pain, again it's for the best in the long run as the topside decals had reacted badly to the Micro Sol and became semi-transparent, plus the register and alignment on the underside ones were off.

I have decided not to attack the remaining roundel paint further in case I damage the underlying paint job but rather, as it is just paint with no carrier film and so is very flat, just put a clear coat over the top and apply fresh decals.  I've just got to hope Academy got the diameter spot one..... .

ACW as usual

Andrew

***  It is my understanding the the Sky stripe was supposed to be the same width as the invasion stripes but that the rear white invasion stripe sometimes went over it a bit.  The kit decals certainly has this effect and I'm sure I've seen it on photos but I'll take the flak if I've got this wrong.


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The masking and stripes.....















The decal debacle and unintentional 'Eduard' effect...













You can see where the carrier film has come off on this one as a single piece on the masking tape.  It is completely smooth to the touch....

[adt70hk]

OK chaps, so the decals are on.

I had wanted to use the Xtradecal set X48130 (link) to do one of the Spits (RB159) from that but it is out of stock and not due to be back in stock until the end of the year.

So I ended up their individual roundel, code letter and serial number sets to do it- albeit the sets are generic and so the format/shapes are very sightly off - not that I'm worried given this was a test build for various new techniques.

I've not used Xtradecal decals before and whilst they're not quite up to Cartograph they are vastly superior to the kit ones and so again another silver lining to the problems I've had.

ACW as usual.

ATB

Andrew


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The Xtradecal sets I used......









The results....not perfect but will do nicely.....

[handiabled]

Fantastic save!! The markings really look fantastic! I'd be hard pressed to know you had any issues with them at all with the end results.